Tsunami Kills at Least 420 in Indonesia

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia Friday, causing a 5 foot tsunami to hit the island of Sulawesi. At least 420 were killed in the monster waves, with the death toll expected to rise over the next few days.

The tsunami, while not as powerful and destructive as the 2004 tsunami that ravaged coasts along the Indian Ocean, caused severe destruction across the island. Numerous buildings in cities such as Palu were destroyed, along with roads being made impassable. The tsunami also cut off power to many areas on the island.

Elon Musk to Step Down as Chairman of Tesla After SEC Probe

Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk will step down as chairman of the publicly traded electric car maker after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Musk’s handling of the company. The SEC had alleged that Musk had misled shareholders after he had said he would take Tesla private. Musk had also claimed he had already received such funding. No concrete evidence was ever provided of this, but Musk said Saudi investors had verbally agreed to do so.

While Musk has to give up his chairman of the board position, he still remains at the helm of the company as CEO.

Musk has faced several difficulties in the past year. Tesla has been plagued by production issues this year as well as volatility in its share price. Musk also faced controversy after his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast in which he appeared to take puff a marijuana joint. The US Air Force threatened an investigation into it as government contractors (as Musk is one given his leadership of SpaceX) cannot use drugs even in states where it is legal.

Kavanaugh Confirmation Hits Snag as FBI Launches Probe

The confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, while expected to be narrow, was not much in doubt until a little over a week ago, when an allegation of sexual assault surfaced. In the allegation, university professor Christine Blasey Ford alleged that Kavanaugh had groped her and attempted to rape her at a party back in high school. While Kavanaugh had “unequivocally” denied the charge and Ford’s recollection of some of the details of the event were vague, distrust of the nominee’s moral character grew steadily, especially after another allegation surfaced soon after. In that second charge, a woman alleged that Kavanaugh had displayed his private parts to her during a party at Yale, where both attended college. A third woman, a client of Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represented pornographic actress Stormy Daniels in her case against Trump, alleged that Kavanaugh had helped orchestrate gang rapes of women during high school and drugged women to make them more susceptible. None of these allegations have been corroborated by other witnesses at this time, though new evidence can come to light any time to help prove either side.

Kavanaugh’s nomination was reported out of the Judiciary Committee of an 11-10 party line vote Friday, one day after both Kavanaugh and Ford gave their testimony to the committee. However, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who voted for Kavanaugh in the committee vote, said he would not vote for Kavanaugh unless a new FBI probe was launched to investigate Ford’s claims. With the GOP majority in the Senate only 51-49, Flake’s vote is crucial for the nomination’s success. President Trump has since ordered the probe, which is expected to take around one week to complete.

Trump’s Lawyer’s Confession Causes Headaches for President

The past week has seen two of Trump’s former aides finding themselves convicted of crimes. In his former campaign chair Paul Manafort’s case, he was found guilty on a number of counts related to financial fraud. However, his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s plea deal confession may prove more damaging to Trump going forward.

In his confession, Cohen acknowledged wrongdoing in arranging hush money payments to two women who claimed to have had consensual affairs with Trump shortly after he married Melania Trump. While such payments are usually not illegal, because they occurred just prior to the election, they could be considered illegal campaign contributions meant to influence the election. Cohen claims he was reimbursed by the Trump Organization and worked at the direction of Trump himself. If true, it is the first concrete case that Trump knowingly broke the law during the 2016 election.

While legal experts say Trump is unlikely to face indictment by prosecutors given his status as president, it could add fuel to Democratic efforts to impeach him, especially if Democrats take back Congress in November.

John McCain: 1936-2018

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) died August 25 after a year-long battle with brain cancer. McCain, who represented the state of Arizona in the Senate since 1987 and in Congress since 1983, left a unmistakable mark on American politics and the US’s role in international affairs.

McCain, born in 1936 in the Panama Canal Zone, was both the son and grandson of Navy admirals. He graduated from the US Naval Academy and served as a pilot in the Vietnam War. He was shot down during the conflict and kept as a prisoner by the North Vietnamese in their capital Hanoi. As a result of the torture he received, he never was able to raise his arms over his head again.

McCain ran for and won an Arizona House seat in 1983 and became a US senator four years later. In the Senate he was known for his “maverick” approach in which he generally adhered to the conservative principles of the Republican Party but was willing to buck his party on certain issues, such as campaign finance and immigration. He was also a forceful proponent of using American military power abroad, seen in his advocacy for the Iraq War, intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War, and intervention in the Syrian Civil War.

McCain ran for president in 2000 and 2008, and he became the GOP nominee in the latter. After his defeat by Senator Barack Obama, he took a more conservative stance, becoming a major opponent of Obama’s health care law. McCain’s maverick reputation did seem to return in his last years, however, sparring with President Donald Trump, especially after Trump’s critical comments of his military service, and opposed the president’s efforts to repeal the individual mandate in Obamacare, known as the “skinny repeal.”